Extracts from the travel diaries of Sally I.; scholar and philosopher. This documentary series, Galactic Misunderstandings, is brought to you by Starwire Discovery Programmes

Galactic Misunderstandings: Mandalorians

It has been quite the journey. When I started my first week, I was a veritable ball of preconceptions about Mandalorians, their nature and their value to the galaxy at large. In truth, I expected to have those preconceptions altered, but I did not imagine the range and variety that I experienced. It is no surprise that a culture that thrives on adaptation should have diversity, which of course means that no stereotype stands the test of every Mandalorian individual; with the exception of a few exceptionally common traits encouraged by the Resol’nare.

Sadly, while I feel better about my understanding and found many ways to extol seeming paradoxical virtues from the culture, part of suvarir—to understand—is to accept the bad as well as polish the good to a mirror shine.

Extracts from the travel diaries of Sally I.; scholar and philosopher. This documentary series, Galactic Misunderstandings, is brought to you by Starwire Discovery Programmes

Galactic Misunderstandings: Mandalorians

Perhaps the most basic factor in any culture is the presence of some kind of hierarchy. For complex systems like the Galactic Republic—a sprawling, multi-layer comprehensive bureaucracy supporting a democracy—it is quite frankly hard to keep track of power, money and resources. As you might expect, the Mandalorian system is mercifully bureaucracy-free.

In fact, the position of Mand’alor—the ‘sole ruler’—is barely defined or officially described. It is a title claimed, and if unopposed, kept. If opposed, it must be defended; traditionally violently. It is a level of accepted seniority and respected skill and wisdom to which the vast majority—if not the entirety—of the Mandalorian clans owe enough respect to obey. You could viably cry ‘dictator’ but bear with me here. Remember how much like family Mandalorians are, and join me for the final nari of the Resol’nare.

Extracts from the travel diaries of Sally I.; scholar and philosopher. This documentary series, Galactic Misunderstandings, is brought to you by Starwire Discovery Programmes

Galactic Misunderstandings: Mandalorians

Take a look at the politics of the day. Is there something on about the future of our children with various parties vying to tell you how children should be taught, and when, and what, or even where? There usually is and with good reason. The children of a family, or a culture, or a nation will replace those currently in their prime before anyone knows it and it is their wisdom and strength of character that will dictate the fate of nations when we are all gone.

Many cultures exalt this principle rather profoundly and the Mando'ade are certainly one. Enshrined in the Resol'nare, is ba'jur; education. As with so much of any culture though, this seemingly obvious and self-explanatory action is not without its nuance in Mandalorian practice.

Extracts from the travel diaries of Sally I.; scholar and philosopher. This documentary series, Galactic Misunderstandings, is brought to you by Starwire Discovery Programmes

Galactic Misunderstandings: Mandalorians

As a pentalingual, you might imagine that I quite like learning the nuances of cultural communication; and you would be correct! As with many cultures, you can tell quite a lot by the flavour and cadence of the Mandalorian tongue. Mando’a, as it is called, is easily identified in a few ways (not least by the fact it keeps turning up in italics whenever I read the text-transcribed version of this documentary).

Language is another of the most obvious ways a culture distinguishes itself; even within the same language. It evolves with the people and takes on the tone and role that the culture assigns it, whether inherited or adopted from others. Mando’a is a defining element of the Mando’ade, to the point of demanding its’ own place in the Resol’nare. They are even protective of it to an extent; not all those I met were especially happy that I could speak it myself. But that just goes to show how much cultural identity there can be in language.

Extracts from the travel diaries of Sally I.; scholar and philosopher. This documentary series, Galactic Misunderstandings, is brought to you by Starwire Discovery Programmes

Galactic Misunderstandings: Mandalorians

With a handful of exceptions, one galactic constant is family. Nobody knows this better than Mandalorians who have it inscribed in their code to live by. Aliit, or clan, is a strong unifying concept that transcends the biological notion of family. The face of the Mando’ade that the galaxy sees is one of eternal belligerence and crude honour, but to see this as all they are is a disservice.

The Resol’nare, the Six Actions as you may recall, pursue only one principle goal: survival. Central to the culture is the notion of perseverance, resilience. The aliit action acknowledges that no one Mando’ad, no matter the talent or mastery, is an island. They are stronger together as a family and as a culture; while many are competitive, self-centred or arrogant, such traits are better explained under different actions. Not to worry; we’ll get to those, but first, the essence of community spirit. Of course, with aliit comes platonic love. The warrior culture of Manda’yaim generally means that such love is explored in very odd, violent or dysfunctional ways; not universally, but regardless of the format, never underestimate the power of Mandalorian fellowship.

Extracts from the travel diaries of Sally I.; scholar and philosopher. This new documentary series, Galactic Misunderstandings, is brought to you by Starwire Discovery Programmes.

Galactic Misunderstandings: Mandalorians

I, like many others, found myself adrift on the open ocean of stars after the galactic order received something of a sizable boot to the unmentionables half a decade ago. Even before the eventual surrender of those subject to the aforementioned boot I was wandering alone, though. When one lives the life of a well-meaning transient, you can learn a great deal about people and the way they think. Reflect a moment: how hard is it to believe something different when all those you respect seem to think one way?

While rarely the subject of abject loneliness per sé, I found it only natural to consider engendering camaraderie with whoever the river of fate deigned to place me with. No more pertinent was this to me than when I found myself with some of the most misrepresented professional belligerents in the galaxy.

Mostly because I’m writing this on deadline day and the subject of Armour is way easier. Plus, I had a couple of requests and nudges toward the topic. Paraphernalia next week. Honest injun.

We’ve all seen that one guy who plays a Mega Deathbot Cyborg Supreme with the same quantity, quality and tonnage of armour as your average cruiser. We’ve all seen the Body Type Three Mandalorian in the Beskar Extreme kit with twenty-six different rocket launchers secreted across its plates, and even thicker protection in the underarms and at the backs of the knees, to fool his enemies into attacking his ‘weak spots’. We’ve all seen the Sith or Jedi who, despite ostensibly only wearing cloth robes, somehow has impenetrable, lightsaber-proof underwear at that one spot their opponent was aiming.

Let’s not be those people. Encasing a character in Unobtainium Superplate gives them a sense of invulnerability. That is never a good thing. Especially not when combined with a writer who believes they can hide behind the OOC consent barrier and use both as an excuse for the character to do as they please, with no mind to consequence. Worse still, if they mean to use equipment as leverage over others.

Vulnerability breeds consideration, doubt, hesitation and an awareness of mortality, all of which are golden traits for character development. We like those things. However, some characters have real and legitimate reasons to be carapaced and protected.

Mandalorians are not exactly a race, as many people originally believe. Mandalorian is a warrior culture. No race, species, nor gender are excluded from becoming Mando'ade. NO! That's not a refreshing new citrus drink. That is Man - doe - ah - day. With few exceptions, every syllable in the Mandalorian language is pronounced. But that's not really the point of this article.

Each Mandalorian follows a code called the Resol'nare. There are six parts to this code: wear armor, defend the family, help the clan to succeed, raise children as Mandalorians, rally to the cause of the Mand’alor, and of course, speak Mando'a. The culture is fascinating and reminiscent of the Scottish clans or maybe more like the Spartans. Either way you which to compare, you will find a lot of ties to real-world history.

Today, I would like to know if this culture is interesting to you, and more to the point: Are you going to be a part of it in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Vaabir gar bah jorhaa'ir Mando'a? Are you going to speak Mando'a?